Plastic support devices especially for pipes and cables

ABSTRACT

A rod-engaging support device ( 1 ) is formed from plastics material. The body ( 2 ) of the device ( 1 ) supports a fitting e.g. rod connector, suspension hook or munsen ring, which fitting may be integral or removably securable thereto. The device ( 1 ) further incorporates rod engagement means ( 4, 5 ) wherein the rod is received by the engagement means ( 4, 5 ) in a first position and following relative rotation of the device ( 1 ) with respect to the rod, the rod is gripped by the engagement means ( 4, 5 ) in a second position.

The present invention relates to a support for elongate membersparticularly, although not exclusively, overhead pipework and cabling.

Conventionally, pipework and cabling has been suspended above falseceilings by means of simple, usually metallic, fittings threadinglyengaged on studs or rods depending from the ceiling. Such fittings haveoften been inconvenient to use as well as relatively expensive tomanufacture. Previously, different types of fittings have beenmanufactured to support different loads for example pipework or cabling.

It thus an object of the present invention to provide an improvedsupport device which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art andwhich furthermore allows one-handed installation and in addition mayalso be secured to unthreaded rods and the like.

According to the present invention, there is provided a rod engagingsupport device, which device comprises a plastics material bodyincorporating rod engagement means and which may be formed with eitheran integral or removable fitting.

Preferably the rod engagement means takes the form of a pair of spacedapart hooked fingers, such that, in use, the rod is received between thefingers in a first orthogonal position and following rotation to asecond orthogonal position is gripped by the fingers. Alternatively therod engagement means may be provided by a captive nut moulded into thebody.

Where the device is not formed with a fitting as a unitary moulding, thedevice may include reception means formed on one or more sides of thedevice such that a suitable fitting or fittings can be attached thereto.Clearly, the fitting may be of any type limited only by the fact thatwhere the fitting forms a separate element, it is provided withcomplementary means for engaging with the reception means. It will fakerbe noted that where additional security is required and particularlywhere the rod is threaded, the device may incorporate friction means,advantageously in the form of a grooved or serrated surface whichcontacts the rod and in the case of a threaded rod, engages in thread.

In order to aid in understanding the invention a number of embodimentsthereof will now be described by way of example and with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a support device according to the inventionshown attached to a threaded rod;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 1, with the rod omitted forclarity;

FIG. 6 is an underside view of the device of FIG. 1, again with the rodomitted for clarity;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a support device according to a secondembodiment of the invention shown attached to a threaded rod;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an end view elevation of the device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a support device according to a variant of thefirst embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is an perspective view of the device of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an end view elevation of the device of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a plan View of the device of FIG. 11;

The support device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings is aninjection moulded body 2 formed from a suitable plastics material. Thebody 2 is generally C-shaped with a vertical portion 3 interconnecting apair of horizontal limbs or fingers 4,5.

The vertical portion 3 is formed with an undercut blind slot 6 on itsrear surface 7. The slot 6 is so proportioned to receive, as a slidinginterference fit, the basal portion of a selected complementary fitting(not shown). The basal portion has substantially the samecross-sectional configuration as the slot 6 and provides support, aswill be clear to anyone skilled in the art, for any number ofconventional fittings including, but not limited to, rod connectors,suspension hooks, and munsen rings.

The fingers 4,5 each define a circular bore 8,9 extending betweenrespective upper 10,11 and lower 12,13 surfaces thereof. Each bore 8,9communicates with a slit 14,15 running the entire width of therespective finger 4,5. The slits 14,15 are on opposite sides 16,17 ofthe body 2. Consequently, when the device 1 is offered up to a rod in afirst orthogonal position the rod passes into a region between the lowerand upper surfaces 11,12 of the respective fingers 4,5 and by rotatingthe device to a second orthogonal position, the rod is snapped throughthe slit 14,15 in each finger 4,5 and thereby retained within thecorresponding bore 8,9. To permit the device 1 to be wound along thethread, the body 2 further includes a small protrusion 18,19 into one ormore of the bores 8,9 so sized to engage with the thread in the secondorthogonal position.

Finally, it should be noted that although the present embodiment shows asupport device secured to a threaded rod, it has been found that thedevice is equally effective when used with an unthreaded rod. Thus, ithas been found that the grip provided by the fingers 4,5 together withthe frictional properties of the plastics material are sufficient tosupport a fitting bearing a practical load.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, like numerals are usedto reference equivalent parts. However, instead of a pair of threadengaging fingers, the body 2 is formed around a captured nut 20 which iscoaxial with a bore 21 passing between upper 22 and lower 23 surfaces ofthe device 1. Thus the bore 21 is simply introduced to a free end of therod and wound along its thread to the desired position thereon.

In a variant of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, once againlike numerals are used to reference equivalent parts. However, insteadof a providing the support device 1 with means for engaging a separatefitting, the fitting, which in the present embodiment takes the form ofa cable clip 24, is formed integrally with the support device 1. Itwill, of course, be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thedevice may be formed any desired type of fitting and is therefore notlimited to a cable clip. Furthermore, the present embodiment of theinvention incorporates the optional additional feature of a serratedfriction portion 25 positioned between the fingers 4,5 on theinterconnecting vertical portion 3 of the body 2. The friction portion25 is intended to frictionally engage with the rod and thereby assist inpreventing the support device 1 from slipping along the rod when thefitting is under load. The device of the present embodiment has beenfound to be effective with both threaded and unthreaded rods.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the presentinvention permits one handed attachment of a support device to rods.This is a valuable benefit when it is realised that such devices arefrequently installed close to the ceiling of a building whilst theinstaller is standing on a ladder or such-like. Furthermore, the firstembodiment of the invention and its variant are particularly usefulwhere it is not possible or convenient to have access to a free end of arod as their construction permits the device to be installed at anypoint along the rod and in the case of a threaded rod simply wound alongthe rod to the desired position.

What is claimed is:
 1. A single-piece rod-engaging plastic supportdevice for supporting a fitting and having a body comprising rodengagement means for receiving a rod in a first position and, followingrelative rotation of the device with respect to the rod, gripping therod by the engagement means in a second position, and wherein the rodengagement means comprises a pair of spaced-apart partial cylindershaving an interconnecting portion with rod engaging friction means, acommon axis, and C-shaped cross-sections with oppositely directedopenings, the C-shaped cross-sections having an internal diameter whichis greater than the oppositely directed openings; the device integrallycomprising a separate fitting in cable clip form having an upper andlower portion and which has an axis perpendicular to that of thespaced-apart partial cylinders and parallel to a plane bisecting theoppositely directed openings; the interconnecting portion being integralwith the lower portion of said separate fitting.
 2. A support device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the rod engaging friction means comprises asmall protrusion on the body which engages with the rod.
 3. A supportdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rod engaging friction meanscomprises a grooved or serrated surface located on a surface whichcontacts the rod in use.
 4. A support device as claimed in claim 3,wherein the rod engaging friction means comprises a serrated surfacelocated on a surface which contacts the rod in use.
 5. A rod-engagingsupport device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the interconnecting portionhas an outwardly-facing serrated surface.